Look Ahead to These 4 Business Plan Milestones Know what you're working toward.

By Nina Zipkin

As you pitch investors, they will want to know where you see your company going and what goals you aim to accomplish. Here are four milestones to incorporate into your plans for the future.

You turn a profit. Whether you think you'll reach profitability this year or five years from now, it's important to consider when you'll be in the black and when investors might start seeing a return.
Read more: 8 Questions That Will Help Set the Right Expectations With Investors

You expand. Success for your business might mean a new location in an adjacent town, becoming a franchise or building markets overseas. It might even mean moving from your garage to a warehouse, and getting some proper infrastructure in place. Consider how your company might grow so you staff accordingly and plan a product or service that will evolve with your business.
Read more: How to Overcome 4 'Frightening' Milestones

You reach 1 billion customers. You should have a sense for how much your company might grow in the first year and even the first five years and what share of the market you'd like to capture. Customer growth can help you predict revenue growth so make sure you know what number spells success for your concept
Read more: 6 Keys to Proving a Viable Startup Business Model

You staff up. If you are bootstrapping your company, your first real hires are a vote of confidence in your vision for the company. They're also a turning point, since it means you can start handling more serious expenses. Know when you'll be able to handle the extra costs to keep up with demand for your products or services.
Read more: 7 Tips For Hiring The Best Startup Talent

Nina Zipkin

Entrepreneur Staff

Staff Writer. Covers leadership, media, technology and culture.

Nina Zipkin is a staff writer at Entrepreneur.com. She frequently covers leadership, media, tech, startups, culture and workplace trends.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Side Hustle

This 30-Year-Old's $6,000-a-Month Side Hustle Started Making Money 'Immediately' — But He's Not Quitting His Day Job

Derrick Mathy works in orthopedic surgical device sales and is on a mission to bring people together in real life.

Side Hustle

'I Was Called Crazy': This 27-Year-Old's Side Hustle Hit $30,000 a Month in Under a Year — Now It's Worth Millions

Changing regulations forced Angel Rodriguez's jet ski rental company to shut down, and the young entrepreneur had to figure out his next move — fast.

Business News

'Unprecedented in Our 53-Year History': Southwest Airlines Announces Its First Mass Layoffs Ever

The airline is eliminating 15% of its corporate workforce, including many in senior leadership positions.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Business News

Elon Musk's xAI Claims Its New Grok 3 AI Is Better Than ChatGPT and DeepSeek: 'Seeing the Beginnings of Creativity'

xAI debuted the new AI on Monday, claiming it has 10 times the computational power of Grok 2.

Thought Leaders

Cultural Fit Can Make or Break an M&A Deal

One of the most critical components for success -- cultural fit -- often falls by the wayside.